|
THE
ARCANE
ARCHIVE |
a cache of usenet and other text files pertaining
to occult, mystical, and spiritual subjects.
|
TOP | RELIGION | AFRICAN | DIASPORIC | VOODOOVodou Lave Tet / Hoodoo Spiritual Bath
To: alt.religion.orisha,alt.magick.tyagi,alt.lucky.w
From: catherine yronwode
Subject: Vodou Lave Tet / Hoodoo Spiritual Bath
Date: Fri, 29 Jun 2001 20:19:31 GMT
Mambo Racine Sans Bout wrote:
Because there are some similarities between the lave tet and the
old-syle African-American hoodoo practice which, in my youth, was called
a "rub" or a "spiritual bath" by some folks, and also called a
"blessing" by others. I thought it might interest some folks here if i
interpolate a few comparisons.
> A lave tet is performed in order to cleanse a person's head,
> facilitate possession, remove negativity, and for other reasons as
> well.
Same with a rub or bath -- it often takes the form of a head-blessing.
Hoewever, if the client's issue is magico-medical, a full body bath or a
foot rub or a rub of the affected part will be performed in a downward
motion, to expel the evil.
> A lave tet does not make a person a member of a Vodou sosyete
> (society, congregation). Anyone can have a lave tet done, and then
> never go back to that Houngan or Mambo again. Furthermore, lave
> tets are often enough done by uninitiated practitioners called
> "Houngan djakout" or "Houngan kwakwa" who have no congregation at
> all, usually.
Same in hoodoo -- having a spiritual bath in no way obligates or bonds
the client to the root worker.
> If a person wants they can combine other ceremonies,
> such as an "Action de Grace" (a prayer service for the general
> well-being of the individual invoking their lwa and ancestors) or a
> "gad" (from the French "garde", a type of protective magic) with the
> lave tet, and that can take more time
The conbination of a rub or bath, a prayer service, making a protective
or lucky mojo, and also preparing and administering the first dose of a
medical tea to be drunk by the client for a set number of days
afterwards was common in urban hoodoo in my youth. Such practices are
much less common today. One bigt difference between old-style urban
hoodoo and a Haitian lave tet is that in the former, all the work took
place on one day. However, in reading Hyatt's oral histories and
Johnson's book on Dr. Jim Jordan, which describe older, *rural* hoodoo
practices (circa 1900 - 1935 in Georgia, North Carolina, Virginia, and
Maryland, for instance) it is obvious that people travelling a long way
to see a root doctor, on foot or by mule, often stayed over and received
a two-day or longer course of treatment.
> A lave tet is done starting at sunrise.
This is absolutely true in hoodoo -- the work begins "fore day," a fact
that annoys many teen-witch readers at my web site to no end! (They want
to perform a "spooky" ceremony at midnight!)
> The washings should be complete by noon, the person receiving the
> lave tet remains in the peristyle for the rest of the day and sleeps
> in the Rada badji (small room consecrated to the service of the Rada
> lwa) that night, and that is it.
This description corresponds fairly well with the older, rural form of
hoodoo -- but, as i said, in an urban environment, everything moves
faster, so the person would not stay overnight. And, of course, root
workers have no special room cnsecrated to the Rada lwa -- usually just
a side room with a small altar, usually Christian.
> Furthermore, it is not the number of different kinds of herbs that
> is significant, it is the type of herbs, the particular species,
> which is important.
In hoodoo, the rub or bath consists of both a certain number of herbs
(always odd, usually 3, 7, 9, or 13) and a certain combination of
species. Examples which i was taught to prepare include
the 7-Herb bath for blessings and good luck in love and money,
the 9-Herb bath for spiritual wisdom and to aid decision-making, and
the 13-herb bath to remove crossed conditions or break a jinx.
> A person who concludes their lave tet and goes home the next morning
> is usually advised to avoid sexual contact that night, and to avoid
> shaking hands with people.
This is similar to the proscriptions in old-style urban hoodoo as
practiced in my youth -- i was told to not shake hands with anyone for
the rest of the day.
Thanks for the post, Racine -- and i hope you found these comparisons of
interest.
cat yronwode
Hoodoo in Theory and Practice -- http://www.luckymojo.com/hoodoo.html
Lucky Mojo Curio Co. http://www.luckymojo.com/luckymojocatalogue.html
Send e-mail with your street address to catalogue@luckymojo.com
and receive our free 32 page catalogue of hoodoo supplies and amulets
|
|
Did you like what you read here? Find it useful?
Then please click on the Paypal Secure Server logo and make a small
donation to the site maintainer for the creation and upkeep of this site.
|
|
|
The ARCANE ARCHIVE is a large domain,
organized into a number of sub-directories,
each dealing with a different branch of
religion, mysticism, occultism, or esoteric knowledge.
Here are the major ARCANE ARCHIVE directories you can visit:
|
interdisciplinary:
geometry, natural proportion, ratio, archaeoastronomy
mysticism:
enlightenment, self-realization, trance, meditation, consciousness
occultism:
divination, hermeticism, amulets, sigils, magick, witchcraft, spells
religion:
buddhism, christianity, hinduism, islam, judaism, taoism, wicca, voodoo
societies and fraternal orders:
freemasonry, golden dawn, rosicrucians, etc.
|
SEARCH THE ARCANE ARCHIVE
There are thousands of web pages at the ARCANE ARCHIVE. You can use ATOMZ.COM
to search for a single word (like witchcraft, hoodoo, pagan, or magic) or an
exact phrase (like Kwan Yin, golden ratio, or book of shadows):
|
OTHER ESOTERIC AND OCCULT SITES OF INTEREST
Southern
Spirits: 19th and 20th century accounts of hoodoo,
including slave narratives & interviews
Hoodoo
in Theory and Practice by cat yronwode: an
introduction to African-American rootwork
Lucky W
Amulet Archive by cat yronwode: an online museum of
worldwide talismans and charms
Sacred
Sex: essays and articles on tantra yoga, neo-tantra,
karezza, sex magic, and sex worship
Sacred
Landscape: essays and articles on archaeoastronomy,
sacred architecture, and sacred geometry
Lucky Mojo Forum:
practitioners answer queries on conjure; sponsored by the
Lucky Mojo Curio Co.
Herb Magic:
illustrated descriptions of magic herbs with free spells,
recipes, and an ordering option
Association of
Independent Readers and Rootworkers: ethical
diviners and hoodoo spell-casters
Freemasonry
for Women by cat yronwode: a history of mixed-gender
Freemasonic lodges
Missionary
Independent Spiritual Church: spirit-led, inter-faith,
the Smallest Church in the World
Satan Service
Org: an archive presenting the theory, practice, and
history of Satanism and Satanists
Gospel of
Satan: the story of Jesus and the angels, from the
perspective of the God of this World
Lucky
Mojo Usenet FAQ Archive: FAQs and REFs for occult and
magical usenet newsgroups
Candles and Curios:
essays and articles on traditional African American
conjure and folk magic
Aleister
Crowley Text Archive: a multitude of texts by an
early 20th century ceremonial occultist
Spiritual
Spells: lessons in folk magic and spell casting from
an eclectic Wiccan perspective
The Mystic
Tea Room: divination by reading tea-leaves, with
a museum of antique fortune telling cups
Yronwode
Institution for the Preservation and Popularization of Indigenous
Ethnomagicology
Yronwode Home:
personal pages of catherine yronwode and nagasiva
yronwode, magical archivists
Lucky Mojo
Magic Spells Archives: love spells, money spells,
luck spells, protection spells, etc.
Free Love
Spell Archive: love spells, attraction spells, sex
magick, romance spells, and lust spells
Free
Money Spell Archive: money spells, prosperity
spells, and wealth spells for job and business
Free
Protection Spell Archive: protection spells
against witchcraft, jinxes, hexes, and the evil eye
Free
Gambling Luck Spell Archive: lucky gambling spells
for the lottery, casinos, and races
|
